12 African countries commit to ending AIDS in kids by 2030

Ministers and representatives from 12 African countries have laid out plans to end acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in children by 2030 through early testing, treatment and prevention programmes. 

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks the body’s immune system. If HIV is not treated, it can lead to AIDS. There is currently no effective cure; once people get HIV, they have it for life. But with proper medical care, HIV can be controlled.

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The Global Alliance to end AIDS in children will work to drive progress over the next seven years to ensure that the 2030 target is met.

The goal was first set in a meeting with representatives from 12 countries from the continent gathered in Tanzania’s Dar-es-Salaam, the World Health Organization said in a press note.

The Dar-es-Salaam Declaration on ending AIDS in children was endorsed unanimously. The commitment marks a step up to ensure that all children with HIV have access to life-saving treatment and that mothers living with HIV have babies free from HIV.

Countries with high HIV burdens have joined the alliance in the first phase: Angola, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

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Currently, a child dies from AIDS-related causes every five minutes globally. Only half (52 per cent) of children living with HIV are on life-saving treatment, far behind adults, of whom 76 per cent are receiving antiretrovirals.

The work will centre on four pillars: 

• Early testing and optimal treatment and care for infants, children, and adolescents;
• Closing the treatment gap for pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV to eliminate vertical transmission;
• Preventing new HIV infections among pregnant and breastfeeding adolescent girls and women; 
• Addressing rights, gender equality and the social and structural barriers that hinder access to services.

Read more:

• HIV positive children’s treatment in Africa not on par with adults: UN Report
• How COVID-19 restrictions prevent Nairobi’s sex workers from accessing vital healthcare
• New gene editing technology may not fully eliminate HIV, finds study

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